What I love today, I may not love tomorrow!

The other day, I was staring blankly in my cupboards and refrigerator trying to find something that sounded good for lunch. This varies greatly day to day!! On this particular day, I decided on Tuna Melts. They hit the spot that day...but haven't sounded good since! Pregnancy does such crazy things to your appetite. I keep my tuna melts pretty simple- Tuna, Cheddar, Whole Wheat Bread, Black Pepper and Tomato. Easy, Cheap and about 10 minutes from start to finish.

 Start by pre-heating the oven to 400 degrees. I throw two pieces of wheat bread right on the oven rack while it's pre-heating to toast it lightly.

Remove lightly toasted bread from the oven and split 1 can of tuna in water (drained) onto the bread.

Cover the tuna with a few thin-cut slices of tomato and grind fresh black pepper on top.

Top with very thin slices of Sharp Cheddar Cheese and bake about 7 minutes- or until cheese is melted.

Two open faced tuna melts with a Clementine totaled less than 400 calories for lunch and filled me up well! Hoping this sounds good again another day :)

Chocolate, that's good for you? I love it!

I stumbled across a recipe the other day completely by accident. Boy am I glad I did! So easy- and I already had everything on hand. I plan on keeping these in the freezer for breakfast or when I need a chocolate fix without all the guilt :)

You only need three things: 1 Box of Devils Food Cake Mix, 1 15oz Can of Pumpkin and 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce.

Mix batter, spoon into muffin tins and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes

I made 15 regular muffins and 16 mini muffins...the minis were done in about 15 min. Note- this will come out looking exactly like they went in...the batter is thick! Next time I would take a little more time to smooth the tops :)

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar. For those that don't like pumpkin...you can't taste it. And for die hard chocolate lovers, add a few chocolate chips. They are moist, delicious, and healthy!!

I love re-vamping a classic!

I think it is so fun to take a classic recipe, such as Tuna Noodle Casserole, and give it a healthy update! I really don't use many canned foods (Soups,sauces,etc), so this recipe is completely from scratch. It's one of my husband's favorites- and I actually enjoy it as well.

I used Baby Bella Mushrooms, Yellow Onion, Celery, Green Olives, Tuna in Water, Low Fat Mozzarella, Fresh Grated Parmesan, Skim Milk, Olive Oil and Healthy Harvest Egg Noodles (Whole Wheat).

I cooked my mushrooms first to get a little color on them. Cook in 2 tsps of olive oil over Medium heat until they just start to brown.

Chop 2 ribs of celery (leaves too) and 1 small onion. 

Add to the mushrooms and cook until soft.

In a separate pot- boil the water for the noodles. I used 3/4 of the bag.

To the mushroom/onion/celery mixture, I add an additional tsp of olive oil and 2 TBS of flour. Cook 1 minute and slowly stir in 3 cups of skim milk. Drain and add 2 cans of tuna (in water) and 1/2 cup of fresh grated parmesan. Most classic recipes call for Pimentos- we just use green olives with the pimento :) I added about 12 Queen sized olives, sliced.

Grease a 9x13 pan and add the pasta and mushroom sauce. Stir to combine and top with 1 cup of Mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese starts to brown.

This recipe makes a lot- but it freezes really well and my hubby can eat it for days!

Healthy foods you'll love!

I read a lot of food magazines and online recipes. Somewhere, in the last two months, I read a recipe that was about revamping Chicken Parmesan. I know it used Wheat flour and Flax Meal, but I have not been successful in finding it again. Last night, I decided to get creative and the results were fantastic!!! I didn't use a drop of oil or butter in our whole meal.

First, the Chicken Parmesan. For this recipe you will need:
1 cup Whole Wheat flour
3 egg whites, beaten
1 cup Flax Meal
1/4 fresh grated Parmesan Cheese
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
3-4 BLSL Chicken breasts
A small can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup of shredded Low-Fat, Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese

Begin by pounding the chicken between sheets of waxed paper. I use a rolling pin or small skillet for this. I pound them thin so they cook evenly.


Next, place Whole Wheat flour in one bowl with 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and 1/2 tsp garlic powder.

In a second bowl, beat 3 egg whites. I used 2 eggs for 3 chicken breasts and just barley had enough.

In a third bowl, mix Flax Meal with the fresh grated Parmesan, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp Italian Seasoning.

Dip each Chicken Breast in flour mixture, then eggs, then Flax and place on a Sil-pat lined baking Sheet.

Put in a 425 degree oven for 25 minutes. Pull out and top with 2 TBS of tomato sauce (I use Hunt's with Garlic and Basil).


And sprinkle on 2 TBS of shredded Mozzarella. Place in the oven for another 5 minutes.

I put mine under the broiler for the last minute because I like the cheese to get brown and bubbly!

For the sides, I knew I was going to roast broccoli, but I wanted a second dish and I had potatoes and spinach to use up. I spent a little time looking online for a recipe, but everything contained heavy cream and butter. So I made my own concoction, Figure Friendly Spinach Mashed Potatoes, and it was delicious!
Start by peeling and chopping four Russet potatoes. I cut mine into inch sized cubes. Throw them in a pot of cold water and bring to a boil. Boil for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender.


While potatoes cook, prepare the other ingredients. Grate 1/4 cup of fresh Parmesan cheese, and roughly chop 2 cups of fresh spinach.


When potatoes are cooked, drain water and return to pot. Add in Spinach, Parmesan cheese, 1 cup of chicken broth (I used homemade), 1 tsp black pepper, and 1 tsp of garlic salt. Stir over low heat until spinach starts to wilt, adding more broth if needed.


The end result- a beautiful meal that was delicious, and relatively guilt free!